Method of assembling an elevator and an elevator

This application is a continuation of PCT International Application No. PCT/CN2022/086606 which has an International filing date of Apr. 13, 2022, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

This invention relates to a method of assembling an elevator and in particular to construction time use of an elevator.

A challenge of constructing a building with an elevator is transportation of material and personnel at the building site.

A common solution is to utilize a separate construction time elevator or elevators which are mounted along a side of the building which is being built. However, this involves a lot of work and costs, as the construction time elevators continuously needs to be modified as the height of the building increases, and as they eventually need to be taken apart and transported elsewhere when the building is completed.

In particularly for high buildings where lift travels are very long, installation of construction time elevators, are challenging. Additionally, the construction time elevators are installed outside which makes use of them dependent on the weather conditions, such as rain, snow or storm.

An object of the inventive concepts is to solve the above-mentioned drawback and to provide a solution simplifying assembly of an elevator. This object is achieved with a method and an elevator according to some example embodiments as subsequently described.

When the assembly of the elevator is implemented in phases, section by section, such that installation of guide rails is implemented in an upper section, while an elevator car can already be launched for use in a lower section of the elevator shaft, it becomes possible to take an elevator car into use in a part of the elevator shaft at a much earlier stage than in previously known solutions.

Preferred embodiments of the invention are disclosed in the dependent claims.

illustrate a first embodiment of assembling an elevator.illustrate the same elevator shaftat different moments of time.

Ina preparation phase of assembling guide railsand other elevator devices is in progress in a lowermost first sectionof the elevator shaftwhile upper sections of the elevator shaft are still under construction. Consequently, at this stage the elevator shafthas not yet reached its final height, but instead only one section of the elevator shaftis ready, and construction of a second sectionof the elevator shafthas begun.

The preparation phase is implemented by means of a lifting devicewhich has been temporarily mounted into the elevator shaftunder a crash deck. The crash deckprovides protection against objects possibly falling downwards from the second sectionwhile construction of the elevator shaft continues.

In the illustrated example an installation platformis movably suspended from a ropeby the lifting device. This installation platformmay be used by personnel carrying out the installation work of the railsby attaching them to the wall of the elevator shaft. In the examples illustrated in the figures, it is by way of example assumed that the installation platform is provided only with a floor and low walls, such that it has an upwardly open basket-like configuration. However, instead of utilizing such a dedicated installation platform, it is possible in some implementations to use the roof of an elevator car as the installation platform. In that case detachable low walls may for safety reasons be temporarily mounted on top of the roof during the installation. After installation, these low walls may be removed, and the elevator car can be taken into use for elevator runs in the elevator shaft.

In the situation illustrated inthe preparation phase of assembling guide rails has been completed in the lowermost first sectionof the elevator shaft. At this stage the construction work of the elevator shafthas reached a phase where the second sectionof the elevator shafthas been completed and a preparation phase has been initiated in the second section. Consequently, the lifting deviceis now located under a crash deckin the second sectionand the installation platformis movably suspended from the ropeby the lifting devicein the second section. A crash deckprevents objects from falling from the second sectionto the first sectionwhile the preparation phase of assembling guide railscontinues in the second section.

Ina launch phase of taking an elevator carinto use in the first sectionhas been finalized. During the launch phase a hoisting machinehas been mounted in the elevator shaft, the elevator carand a counterweight have been suspended by a ropefrom the hoisting machine, and other devices such as buffershave been mounted in the elevator shaft. At this stage the elevator caris ready for construction time use in the elevator shaftsuch that the hoisting machinemoves it between landingsat different levels in the first sectionof the elevator shaft. This makes it possible to transport personnel participating in the construction of the building where the elevator is located and also in the construction of the upper sections of the elevator shaft with the elevator car. Additionally, the elevator carmay be used to transport material.

In a next stage, not illustrated in, the preparation phase is repeated for a third sectionbeing constructed on top of the second sectionin. Additionally, at this stage a launch phase is implemented for the second sectionto allow the elevator carto complete elevator runs in all sections completed so far, in this case the first sectionand the second section. After this the work continues by repeating preparation phases and launching phases until each section of the first elevator shafthas been built, and the elevator car has been taken into use in all of the sections.

One alternative to mount the hoisting machineinto the elevator shaftis to attach the hoisting machineto a guide railintended to be used by the elevator car. In that case brackets can be utilized to attach the hoisting machineto the guide railat a back side of the guide rail. Consequently, the hoisting machine is located on the back side of the guide rail, while the elevator will move along the front side of the guide rail, in other words on the opposite side of the guide rail as compared to the location of the hoisting machine.

illustrates a second embodiment of assembling an elevator. The embodiment ofis very similar to the embodiment explained in connection with. In the following the embodiment ofwill be mainly explained by pointing out the differences between these embodiments.

illustrates an additional phase in the assembly of an elevator which can be implemented together with the phases explained in connection with.illustrates the elevator shaftat a stage when the preparation phase of assembling guide railsin the lowermost first sectionof the elevator shafthas been completed. Alternatively, the additional phase may be implemented before the preparation phase has been initiated in the lowermost first section, in other words before assembling guide railsin the first section. However, the launching phase of taking an elevator car into use in the first sectionhas not yet been initiated when the additional phase is initiated.

The additional phase ofis a transport phase, where guide railsintended for use in upper sections of the elevator shaft are transported and stored for subsequent use. In the situation illustrated in, the last section where the preparation phase has ended is the first section. Consequently, guide railsare lifted from the first sectionwith the lifting deviceand the rope, for instance, via an openingin the crash deckfor storage in the second section. Some of the lifted guide railsmay be intended for use in the second section, some in the third sectionwhich has not yet been completed and some in future sections above the third sectionwhich are not even yet under construction in the situation illustrated in. This transport phase significantly simplifies handling and transporting of guide rails as compared to previous solutions where the guide rails are transported to upper parts of an elevator shaft via routes located outside of the elevator shaft.

In the transport phase the guide railsmay be lifted one by one. However, init has by way of example been assumed that receptaclesdimensioned to contain several guide railsare in use. This significantly speeds up the transport phase, as in that case several guide railsmay be lifted at once to the second sectionwith each receptacle. In the second section the receptacles may be emptied and lowered for a new lift of guide rails. Alternatively, the receptaclesmay be used for storing the guide rails in the second section. This is particularly advantageous, as a part of the lifted guide rails will in a next transport phase again be lifted upwards to a new section of the elevator shaft, due to which unloading and loading of the guide rails from and to the receptacles can be minimized.

Storage of the lifted guide rails and receptacles can be implemented in several different ways. One alternative illustrated inby way of example, is to attach the lifted receptacles to a wallin the elevator shaft. In case no receptacles are in use, single guide rails may be attached to the wall for storage. Once lifting of guide rails to the second sectionhas been completed, the launching phase of taking the elevator carin use in the first sectioncan be initiated, and the preparation phase of assembling guide railsin the third section can be initiated.

In addition to lifting and storing guide rails, the transport phase may also involve lifting and storing other material needed later in the upper sections of the elevator shaft. Such material may include doors for the openings at the landings of the elevator shaft, for instance.

illustrates a third embodiment of assembling an elevator. The embodiment ofis very similar to the embodiments explained in connection withand. In the following the embodiment ofwill be mainly explained by pointing out the differences between these embodiments.

illustrates an alternative way of implementing the preparation phase of assembling guide railsin a section of a first elevator shaft. Inthe lifting deviceis utilized to move the installation platformwith persons standing on it, as in the previous embodiments. A second lifting devicehas been provided to the second sectionfor lifting guide railsto their intended positions in the first section. The second lifting deviceis utilized to suspend and move a horizontal beamin the second section. Each end of the beam suspends a plurality of guide railsin a vertical position with their opposite ends attached to each other. When the rope of the second lifting deviceis used 2:1, the lifting capacity may be 1000 kg, for instance, which makes it possible to lift 6-8 guide rails (3-4 pairs) simultaneously with the horizontal beam, for instance. Naturally the amount may vary depending on the type of the lifting device and the guide rail size, for instance.

also illustrates lowermost a pair of guide railswhich have already been attached into their correct intended positions on the wallsof the second section. At this stage, the horizontal beamcan be lowered until the lowermost ends of the guide railshanging from it are correctly aligned to the upper ends of the attached guide rails. This makes it possible to connected by suitable attachment means, such as bolts and fishplates, via the respective upper and lower ends of the guide rails to each other. Finally, the guide rails hanging from the horizontal beamcan be attached to the wallsof the second section.

illustrate a fourth embodiment of assembling an elevator. The embodiment ofis very similar to the embodiments explained previously. In the following the embodiment ofwill be mainly explained by pointing out the differences between these embodiments.

Inthe preparation phase of assembling guide railsin the first section has been implemented as explained in connection with. However, fromit can be seen that during the launch phase a second crash deckhas been added to the elevator shaft. Consequently, the hoisting machineis located between the first crash deckand the second crash deck, which separate a spacefrom the first sectionand the second sectionof the first elevator shaft. This spacemay be utilized as a temporary machine room where in addition to the hoisting machine, also an elevator control cabinetcontaining electrical devices may located. This significantly simplifies construction time use of an elevator car due to easier maintenance and installation work. Similarly as previously explained in connection with, the hoisting machinemay be arranged into the elevator shaft by attaching it to a guide rail. In that case the hoisting machine may be attached to the back side of the guide rail, while the elevator car will run on the opposite front side of the same guide rail.

illustrate a fifth embodiment of assembling an elevator. The embodiment ofis very similar to the embodiments explained previously. In the following the embodiment ofwill be mainly explained by pointing out the differences between these embodiments.

Intwo different elevator shafts of a building under construction are illustrated. The first elevator shaftto the left inis being built as has previously been explained in connection with. In the situation illustrated in, the preparation phase of assembling guide railsin a first sectionof the first elevator shaftis being carried out as has been explained in connection with, for instance.

The second elevator shaftto the right inis also being built as has been explained in connection with. In the situation illustrated in, the second elevator shaft has reached a stage, where the launching phase has been completed in the first section, while the preparation phase of assembling guide railsin the second sectionof the second elevator shaftis continuing.

As can be seem from, the preparation and launching phases of the second elevator shaftare carried out for sectionsandhaving a different height h than the corresponding heights H of the sectionsandin the first elevator shaft. An advantage with such a solution is that the launching phases for the sections of the different shafts can be finalized at different moments of time. This is advantageous, as construction time use of the elevator car in the first shaftcan be used to support further building of the second shaftand vice versa.

For instance, assuming that the first sectionof the second shaftis first completed such that the preparation and launching phases are finalized. From this moment personnel and material needed for completing the construction of the first section of the first shaftcan be transported with the elevator car of the second shaft. After this, when the first sectionof the first shaftis completed such that the preparation and launching phases are finalized, personnel and material needed for completing the construction of the second sectionof the second shaftcan be transported with the elevator car of the first shaft. Such an alternated building and completion of the sections of the different elevator shafts significantly simplifies and speeds up the construction of both elevator shafts.

Thoughonly illustrates two elevator shafts of a building, it is naturally possible that even more elevators shafts of the same building are being built in a similar flexible way. This offers the possibility of even more flexible solutions of supporting the building work by different section heights and construction time use of the elevator cars in the sections that have been so far completed.

It is to be understood that the above description and the accompanying figures are only intended to illustrate the present invention. It will be obvious to a person skilled in the art that the invention can be varied and modified without departing from the scope of the invention.